---
title: "Scientists Had to Rename Genes Because They Confused Microsoft Excel"
description: "Genetics research is full of errors because Microsoft Excel reformats some gene names into calendar dates. To fix it, scientists just renamed the genes."
date: "2020-08-06"
modified: "2020-08-06"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/rename-genes-confused-microsoft-excel"
categories:
  - "Genetics"
  - "Health & Medicine"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "genetics"
  - "microsoft"
  - "the digest"
---

# Scientists Had to Rename Genes Because They Confused Microsoft Excel

![Genetics research is full of errors because Microsoft Excel reformats some gene names into calendar dates. To fix it, scientists just renamed the genes.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/rename-genes-confused-microsoft-excel.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Images via MaxPixel/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Formatting Error

It turns out that the spreadsheet program Microsoft Excel is a major pain for geneticists. Because some genes have names similar to calendar dates, the program automatically reformats and totally messes up the datasets.

It's a surprisingly common problem that can have a serious impact on published research, *[The Verge ](<https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/6/21355674/human-genes-rename-microsoft-excel-misreading-dates>)*[reports](<https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/6/21355674/human-genes-rename-microsoft-excel-misreading-dates>). Because Microsoft isn't about to update its software to cater specifically to geneticists, scientists ended up [changing the names](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-020-0669-3>) of 27 human genes — such as *MARCH1* — over roughly the course of a year and just published [new naming guidelines](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-020-0669-3.epdf?sharing_token=BZMrU9Wi5_BXw26f6XYX9tRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0O-dPHPOC4n61m4l4RYxTquGupegcazItzS-vKtyfgGZu7u8RAEkIyIaFzSE5GKp92IRRHmMAEJ1OHw9NQvkGa1Vnx_CsMg1CzwpBmeyNyA8jYVS8i5TcdqsByEzWVNNKIT8ilWqVZHksnjNgED59llw7bhmKvHD9Wg4-kDaldoZniv_tMFHnnEv-bB3i507V4%3D&tracking_referrer=www.theverge.com>).

## Saving Time

Excel can be particularly aggressive about automatically reformatting data. And since these errors need to be corrected twice — by the scientist conducting the research and again by anyone who loads the same data and accidentally triggers Excel to autoformat — some slip through the cracks. According to [a 2016 study](<https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-016-1044-7>) in the journal *Genome Biology* spotted by *The Verge*, about 20 percent of 3,597 genetics papers contained Excel errors.

"It's really, really annoying," Quadrams Institute biologist Dezső Módos told *The Verge*. "It's a widespread tool and if you are a bit computationally illiterate you will use it. During my PhD studies I did as well!"

## New Rules

With the [new guidelines](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-020-0669-3.epdf?sharing_token=BZMrU9Wi5_BXw26f6XYX9tRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0O-dPHPOC4n61m4l4RYxTquGupegcazItzS-vKtyfgGZu7u8RAEkIyIaFzSE5GKp92IRRHmMAEJ1OHw9NQvkGa1Vnx_CsMg1CzwpBmeyNyA8jYVS8i5TcdqsByEzWVNNKIT8ilWqVZHksnjNgED59llw7bhmKvHD9Wg4-kDaldoZniv_tMFHnnEv-bB3i507V4%3D&tracking_referrer=www.theverge.com>) in hand, scientists should hopefully be able to avoid naming new genes anything that might trip up Excel. For instance, *MARCH1* is now *MARCHF1*, and *SEPT1* is now *SEPTIN1*.

Thankfully, the changes were welcomed by annoyed geneticists, *The Verge* reports, so hopefully the scourge of overeager spreadsheet software will finally be lifted from the field.

**READ MORE:** [Scientists rename human genes to stop Microsoft Excel from misreading them as dates](<https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/6/21355674/human-genes-rename-microsoft-excel-misreading-dates>) \[*The Verge*\]

**More on genes:** *["Like Horoscope Readings!": The Scammy World of DNA Test Startups](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/scammy-dna-test-startups>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)